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Buying bullets in the US midwest in the mid-80's

Peloso

Peloso

no, really, I'm fine
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Serious question: to anyone with any knowledge of handguns/ammo. Your response would be greatly appreciated.

Say it's 1985 and you're driving down route 15 in Idaho or thereabouts. You need bullets for a handgun. Where would you go?

I know there were no Walmarts back then, but did any of the big box stores sell ammo?

I assume bullets were locked up and you had to ask for them, right?

Or were they just on the shelves?

Failing that, what kind of place would sell you bullets and how simple would the process be?

Asking for a friend.
 
I've inventoried ammunition at places like Dick's Sporting Goods. Probably every sporting goods store carried some, but I bet it wasn't on open shelves.
 
Thank you. I didn't think of sporting goods stores. Seems Dick's has been around since 1984.
 
If you go by any 70s and 80s movie you just walked up to a shelf in any country roadside store and shoveled them into your cart.
 
Alistair said:
If you go by any 70s and 80s movie you just walked up to a shelf in any country roadside store and shoveled them into your cart.
Click to expand...

I've never seen this. Can you provide any examples?
 
You needn't explain, but I don't understand the interest in the 70s and 80s.

World population has doubled since then - more people to keep in check, now. And I'm sure guns have changed a lot since then, as well - gun of choice, what was/is available, power, etc.

Just a guess, but I doubt many people were buying much brass back then.
 
This is for a writing project.
 
^ Don't worry. They never get their bullets.
 
Gosh, I'm the wrong person to ask about this. You might ask somebody like Kulindahr.

Your inquiry brought up all kinds of questions for me. First, large areas in Western states like Idaho are very remote, so you might not have many stores of any kind in many areas.

Then there's the question of what people do with their handguns. I would think they would have them for reasons of protection, or to take out dangerous animals, so I would think that actual firing of guns would be relatively rare. I suspect that most bullets are fired in target shooting, to keep the owners proficient if they need to use them, or in the service and maintenance of their weapons. Most hunters and people protecting their sheep from predators would use rifles. Contrary to the impression you may get from Western movies and TV shows, I doubt that people out there engage in daily gunfighting.

I don't know how many different types of handguns there are, and how many different calibers of bullets a store would have to carry. If there are only a few different bullet calibers commonly used, any store may easily have them on hand, either on the shelves, or behind the counter. There would be reason to keep a few bullets around. However, if gun owners would require many different calibers, it might not make much sense for a store owner to carry a wide assortment, knowing that they could sell only a few of them. If that's the case, it might make more sense for only stores in town to specialize in carrying bullets.

Peloso, when you say they never get their bullets in your writing project, you may have an issue there. There was a viral video on social media several years ago, which showed a 13 year old boy attempting to buy various items from stores. He was unable to buy alcohol, cigarettes, pornography, lottery tickets, and so on. But he was able to buy a gun with no problem. That points to a difference in cultures around guns in this country. So, if your writing involves a store owner refusing to sell bullets to minors, for instance, the truth of the matter is that kids would probably have no more trouble buying bullets than candy or chewing gum.
 
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Araucaria, good points all around, thanks, but anything is possible, and that goes tenfold when you are creating fiction. A lot of the time, incessant and/or obsessive fact-checking can kill creativity. I'm going in a somewhat absurdist direction, and one of the running themes is that all of the peripheral characters act in a morally bankrupt fashion.

That said, I think I've gotten what I need from this thread, so thanks to everybody who hopped on.

The current scenario goes like this: three kids walk into a small sporting goods store, slam the handgun on the counter and say they need bullets for "this thing". The salesman sizes them up: a 20 year old girl in a tube top and short shorts, a boy with a spiky punk haircut, and another boy with his face beaten to hell. So he sells them the wrong bullets. Or perhaps a defective box. Realistic? No. But if you saw this play out in a comedy-drama I doubt you'd be thinking, "No way, that would never happen".

I think it would be funny to have them huddled around the gun, trying to fit the wrong bullets and saying things like "Maybe they're upside down" of "Just force it!"
 
Peloso said:
This is for a writing project.
Click to expand...

Of course you will need to do a bit of research, depending on how 'historically accurate' you want to be, specific to your location and time.

But it's my understanding that, in that era, gunsmiths were still quite common. One or two in or near every village, but usually out some distance because of the risk of explosion. Some would be a combination gunsmith shop and tack shop (saddle/horse gear), and most often, in or attached to the smith's home with a sign by the road. They would have plenty of new amo, and be able to produce reloads from your empties while you wait.

A traveler/stranger could ask any local for directions.
 
^^ LOL @ "that would never happen"

Consider a drunk or stoned gunsmith with a shop in his home, or his incompetent son taking the counter while he makes a beer/pot run.
 
^ That's helpful. I'm just winging it here, it's only a first draft.
 
The Holiday. They're still around, not sure about Montana, but all over the Upper Midwest, also Alaska. Some went by the name of Erickson (and still might). They don't sell as much ammo as they used to, but as you can see by the photo, they sold a lot of things other than gas.

68-HOLIDAY-STATION-04-Excelsior-Blvd-1024x931.jpgholiday1963lonto.jpg

Also most Hardware Stores in the Upper Midwest are a good spot to buy sporting goods, including hunting and fishing licenses. Ace, True Value, Hardware Hank, and the Do-It Best Centers were all around back then, these were all co-ops so they may or may not go by the corporate name. Another small town place is the Co-Op store, still to this day.
 
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Peloso said:
Serious question: to anyone with any knowledge of handguns/ammo. Your response would be greatly appreciated.

See my above answer and then I re-read your question, so thought I'd your specific questions. I still think the Holiday is a good choice for that time period.

Say it's 1985 and you're driving down route 15 in Idaho or thereabouts. You need bullets for a handgun. Where would you go?

I know there were no Walmarts back then, but did any of the big box stores sell ammo?
Wal-Mart (old spelling) was around, but further south. I think they reached southern Wyoming by '85. I know they were in Northern Colorado by the late '70's.

I assume bullets were locked up and you had to ask for them, right?
Or were they just on the shelves?
Right there on the shelf. In many small towns, they're still there in 2021. I know of a hardware store that the guns are available leaning up on the checkout counter.

Failing that, what kind of place would sell you bullets and how simple would the process be?
It's not real dramatic. Pick your box of bullets or shells, take them to the checkout, and exchange money for them or put it on your card. If you want to be real dramatic you can shoplift them.

Asking for a friend.
Click to expand...

Hope this helps!
 
Hey thanks Yooper, that's extremely helpful!
 
Back then didn't lowlifes drive around cities selling guns and ammo from the back of their cars.

Has Hollywood led me astray again.
 
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